Stay Strong
Stay Strong is the second episode of the eighth season of Once Upon a Time, and the 157th episode overall. It was preceded by Be Careful What You Wish For and followed by Which Witch is Which?. Plot Past On the island of Motunui, Chief Moana approaches her parents, Tui and Sina. Moana nervously reveals that they have received a message from the Enchanted Forest; the Evil Queen is planning on casting a Dark Curse that will ruin the entire population’s happy endings. Moana declares that she will travelling to the Enchanted Forest in order to see if she can help prevent the Dark Curse from being cast. With Tui left in charge, Moana sails to the Enchanted Forest. Upon arrival, Moana encounters Snow White by chance. Moana explains her issue, and Snow reveals that, unfortunately, the Enchanted Forest citizens are simply preparing for the inevitable Dark Curse. The two quickly part ways, but Moana disagrees with how unwilling people are to fight back. That night, as Moana travels, she calls for her friend, the demi-god Maui, to help her track down the Evil Queen’s castle. Maui gives her directions, but is preoccupied and cannot come. Moana arrives at the Evil Queen’s castle the following day. Finding it empty, Moana enters and searches for the Dark Curse. Suddenly, the Magic Mirror appears before her. He taunts Moana, summoning the Evil Queen herself back to the castle. The Queen and Moana meet for the first time. Before she can come up with a fake story, the Evil Queen rips Moana’s heart out. Unexpectedly, Moana distracts her and takes her own heart back before fleeing. The Evil Queen decides Moana’s not worth it. It is only a week until the Dark Curse is cast. Moana, still planning her prevention of the Dark Curse, is unprepared and breaks down as the Dark Curse sweeps her up. 28 years later, the Dark Curse is broken, and Moana joins the rest of the town in going to kill the Queen at her house, however this fails. Moana goes for a walk by the beach, before a portal suddenly opens up before her. Curious, she steps through, with it immediately closing behind her. Present A little while after encountering the Wish Villains, Regina and her friends have saved numerous, but not enough, people from the wilderness. Zelena wants to hurry up and find the Wish Villains, but Regina refuses to yet. The conflict between the sisters prompts Zelena to sit at home alone. Meanwhile, Maui mysteriously decides to travel to Oz. Upon arrival, he learns that the rulers, Dorothy Gale and Ruby, have visited Storybrooke. Maui finds the Munchkins, and asks for information on the Wicked Witch of the West. They reveal her name is Zelena. Suddenly, an interruption occurs; Wish Zelena flies over Oz on her broomstick. She lands and confronts the citizens and Maui, declaring she has returned to take back Oz and kill Dorothy. Maui seems to know Zelena and has something against her. A battle occurs. Regina joins a catch-up with Ruby and Dorothy at Granny’s Diner; other attendees include Emma, Hook, Hope, Snow, David and Prince Neal. Regina calls Zelena to come and make amends witn Dorothy and Ruby, but Zelena, in a bad mood, does not pick up. Simultaneously, Ruby gets a call from Mulan (still not very used to modern technology), telling her of (Wish) Zelena’s invasion. Worried Zelena has gone wicked again, Regina calls her crew (Henry, Wish Hook, Alice and Robin), who rush to Oz with Dorothy and Ruby. Everyone arrives to see Wish Zelena causing havoc; Regina decides to chase her down, thinking it is her Zelena. Regina finds Wish Zelena in the woods. Before she can say anything, Maui confronts Wish Zelena. She doesn’t know who he is, but Maui grabs a branch and knocks her out, thirsty for ‘revenge’. Regina intervenes, and Maui flees. In Emerald City, flying monkeys cause mayhem. Just as they prepare to get rid of the monkeys, the good Zelena arrives behind them, having heard of the attack on Oz. Dorothy and Ruby instantly turn on Zelena, but the other heroes know she is redeemed. Despite her best efforts, Dorothy refuses to forgive/believe her enemy. Zelena erases all of the monkeys instantly, and gives a speech to all of Oz about her redemption. Ultimately, nobody believes her due to seeing Wish Zelena with their own eyes. Eager to prove Zelena’s innocence, Alice and Robin take Zelena, Ruby and Dorothy to find Wish Zelena in the woods. They find Regina with unconscious Wish Zelena; Regina explains that Maui assaulted her. The group return to Emerald City, where Zelena and Regina make amends. They show Wish Zelena’s unconscious body to the citizens, but they don’t think its real until she wakes up. Wish Zelena instantly fires dark magic towards Dorothy, but Zelena saves her. The two Zelenas have an argument, but in the end Wish Zelena flees the scene, defeated...for now. Zelena and Dorothy apologise to each other, but the latter and Ruby have a request; Zelena must help them find Princess Ozma and Glinda, both banished by her decades ago. Characters (in order of appearance) * Moana (first appearance) * Tui (first appearance) * Sina (first appearance) * Evil Queen * Wicked Witch of the West * Maui * Wicked Witch of the West (Wish Realm) * Snow White * Red Riding Hood * Dorothy Gale * Prince Charming * Prince Neal * Emma Swan * Captain Hook * Hope Jones * Granny * Henry Mills * Alice Jones * Robin Hood, Jr. * Captain Hook (Wish Realm) * Magic Mirror * Victor Frankenstein (archive footage of Broken) * Jiminy Cricket (archive footage of Broken) * Grumpy (archive footage of Broken) Timeline * The past events up until Moana escapes the Evil Queen occur after the Blue Fairy visits Snow White and Prince Charming in Going Home and before Captain Hook meets the Evil Queen in Queen of Hearts. * The past events of Moana being swept up by the Dark Curse occur concurrently with Pilot. * The past events of Moana joining the mob in Storybrooke occur during Broken. Trivia * The episode was written on the 18 August 2018. * During the scene where Moana joins the other Storybrooke citizens in confronting Regina after the First Curse breaks, the camera cuts between Moana amongst background characters and footage from the episode where this first happens, Broken. Category:Season 8 episodes Category:Once Upon a Time episodes